Only My Everything
by chalantness
Summary: Barbara befriends Gotham Academy's newest transfer student: Artemis Crock. "What was up with you and Dick Grayson earlier?"


**"Only My Everything"**

Of all the classes Barbara could dislike most, it was gym.

She already knows all about the importance of physical activity, being healthy, daily exercise—for crying out loud, she jumped off of rooftops every other night, hurling herself into life-or-death situations in the already crime-plagued city that is Gotham! She doesn't need some petty little sports and games to tell her that she is, in America's view, _physically fit._

But it's not like she could argue this point to her gym teacher, so here she is, P.E. clothes and all, sitting on giant red mats that cover the Gotham Academy gymnasium floor.

It took all of the will power she could muster _not_ to storm out of that stuffy building as their teacher is slowly demonstrating martial arts moves on one of her classmates, enunciating _everything_. Please. Of _all_ the units they had or will have, this was the one she could learn the least from.

"Does he think we're five or something?"

_Exactly!_ – Except, that hadn't come out of her mouth.

Her icy blue eyes (which were behind contacts rather than her usual glasses) look beside her, immediately spying the source of the complaint.

Artemis Crock, age 16, newly arrived transfer student that got selected for a full Wayne Tech scholarship; and, even if Barbara _wasn't_ an apprentice of the Dark Knight himself, she would've gotten this information easily anyway by asking _any_ one of her classmates. Private school students—or any high school student, she supposes—feed off of gossip.

Barbara snickers at the comment and Artemis looks at her, what seems like a smirk or perhaps a small, small grin forming at the corner of her mouth.

"He crawled out from under his rock just a month ago," Barbara informs.

Artemis blinks, probably a little stunned she had been spoken to so casually after everyone making a big fuss about her arrival, and then smiles. "Obviously, since he thinks none of us know how to defend ourselves. This is _Gotham_, for God's sake. It's like beating off a thug is a rite of passage."

Barbara laughs. Ooh, she _likes_ this Artemis girl.

Their teacher—Mr. Robinson, she might add—ceases his lecture. "Is something wrong, Miss, uh… Miss…"

"Gordon," she supplies.

Artemis looks almost apologetic for making her get caught at not paying attention, though Barbara shakes her head slightly to tell her that it's no big deal. She has an infamous gym class streak of mouthing off teachers and making them completely eat their attitude by performing anything they ask her to perfection, anyway, so this scene nothing new to her classmates.

"Okay," Mr. Robinson says, gesturing for her classmate to sit back down, "well then can I have you come up here, please?"

She smirks, something that seems to throw her teacher off for a second, and gets up as she is instructed, winking at Artemis before taking her place beside Mr. Robinson.

"Alright, Miss Gordon—"

"_Barbara_," she enunciates slightly, still smirking. "I prefer _Barbara_."

"Right. Well, Barbara, why don't you give what we've been learning these past two weeks a try and show us?"

"I'd love to, sir, but that would require a _partner_, right?" she asks innocently. The class snickers and in her peripheral vision, she sees Artemis clearly entertained. "Unless I'm going against you."

"No, no," he rushes to correct, "of course not, Miss—Barbara, don't be silly. I'll be picking one of your classmates to join you. Um… ah, young sir, your n—"

"Dick Grayson," she supplies, meeting the bright blue eyes of the boy sitting lazily on the edge of the crowd of students, his patented pretty-much-a-smirk-but-could-be-a-smile look on. His expression morphs into a full-on smirk as he gets up to stand across from her. She places her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes slightly. "It _would_ be you."

He laughs. "What can I say? The universe thinks we're a perfect match."

"Bite me, Grayson."

"With pleasure, Gordon."

The entire class is in a fit laughter, except for Artemis, whom Barbara sees in her peripheral to be either confused or amused by their interaction, or oddly enough, both.

Mr. Robinson quiets the class down with slightly impressive success and turns to them, regret at his pairing obvious on his face. "Is there something I should—never mind, I'll find out later. Now, I don't want either of you going so far as to hurting each other."

She resists rolling her eyes. Kind of vague, but whatever; she knows what she's doing and she _knows_ Dick knows what he's doing, so it's practically nothing.

Mr. Robinson stepped off to the side and blew his whistle and Dick (of course) was the one to make the first move, throwing a half-hearted punch and following it with an equally half-hearted kick. She had no problem returning them, and soon it was a cat-and-cat flurry of easy hits and easier dodges. It wasn't nearly enough to make her sweat like the _real_ thing is. In fact, it was kind of boring.

Still, the rest of the class seemed captivated, even Mr. Robinson, who was probably wondering where their skills came from or feeling stupid for trying to put her on the spot; or both.

The only one who didn't share the same awe as the others was Artemis, which, she'll admit, intrigued her. Obviously this meant she was used to this type of stuff, enough to see that this is the simple stuff. Either that or she's just generally uninterested, which in regards to her earlier comment was probably _not_ the answer.

Unfortunately, the few seconds her mind took to process all of this was also the few seconds Dick needed to actually knock her balance off.

Suddenly, she found the world spinning and her back colliding with the mat too quickly, knocking some of the air out of her as she felt a weight being pinning her shoulders down.

"What the—"

She blinks rapidly for a few seconds, until she is able to focus on bright blue eyes _much_ closer than she expected, staring right back at her.

His knees are on either side of her waist and he looks way too smug. He's always had confidence as deep and endless as the ocean, so she should expect no less that he would burst into a cackle not a moment later, filling the silence of the gym with his voice.

"Looks like I win this round, Gordon!" he gloats, causing her to flush slightly.

Though, his breath is warm against her skin because their faces are in such close proximity to each other, and much to her dismay and utter embarrassment, this makes her blush increase a little.

She scoffs and grumbles "Get off me, Grayson!" as she is shoving him off, desperate to create distance between them. He is still laughing at her, getting up slower than her scramble to get onto her feet. Her heart is beating way too quickly and her cheeks are way too red considering she exerted almost _nothing_ back there, and she'd rather he not be laughing in her face about it, too.

Mr. Robinson comes to see if she's okay but she brushes him off and tugs at her scarlet hair, tightening her already tight ponytail as she often does when she is frustrated and her hair happens to be up.

She meets Artemis's eyes again, only this time the emotion is certain in them, which is—once again, to her dismay—_amused._

* * *

><p>They walk to Calculus from the locker room since they have that class (and evidently more than half their schedule) together and sit beside each other towards the back.<p>

She gets pretty bored in this class and turns to the back of her notebook, reserved for small drawings, except she barely has her mechanical pencil led to the paper when Artemis whispers, "Would you rather draw or do you want to fill me in here?"

Barbara arches an eyebrow. "I can do both," she replies. "What's up?"

"If Dick Grayson is only thirteen then how is he in this class?"

She laughs silently. "In case you haven't noticed, this is a school for geniuses and abnormally talented people. That, and Grayson is a champion mathlete."

"So this place really is a playground for the bored elite with nothing else to do, huh?" Artemis muses.

"Not necessarily, though not entirely wrong, either," Barbara corrects. "It's more like a high maintenance school obsessed with reputation and publicity, and has the money to keep their students entertained with all the latest technologies and benefits. The fact that the curriculum is a bitch to anyone below our expectations probably helps with the idea that education is the most important thing."

Artemis laughs a little, though quietly. "Maybe this place isn't too bad after all." She looks at her. "What was up with you and Dick Grayson earlier?"

Barbara chuckles slightly. She had been expecting this.

"Dick Grayson and I have been competing back in grade school, since Bruce Wayne first adopted him. His father and mine are… _friends_ of sorts, you can call them, enough to lump us together for everything. Bruce Wayne works his million-dollar magic and we end up in all of the same classes, same clubs, same extra-curricular…"

"Alright," Artemis smirks slightly, "but I'm still not getting what's going on between _you_ and _him_."

"I…" Barbara begins, though in a very, very rare occasion, she is momentarily speechless. "We're… friends, per se. More like competitive partners—he's the only one I've met who can match me on anything, as much as it pained me to admit that."

"Why do I have a feeling you're hiding something?"

Barbara blinks, arching an eyebrow. "Are you always this brazen with people you barely know?"

Artemis shrugs, more or less a universal sign as: _yes, I just don't want to say so_.

"If you're that curious, there's nothing going on between us beyond platonic friendship," Barbara informs. "Though, considering you're two years older and new, that'll make you an easy gossip target."

"Why would I—_oh._ No, _no_," Artemis quickly corrects. "I'm not interested in him like that. He reminds me of a friend who's practically a younger brother so it'd be too weird."

"I see." Barbara turns her head slightly to look at Dick, who is halfway across the classroom in a corner and being more blatantly obvious about not paying attention than they are. Confident as ever, she notes, though that's always been his personality. The fact his father is a millionaire and practically idol-worshipped, and the fact he's too skilled and ingenious for his own good, doesn't help either.

She doesn't even realize that she had been moving her pencil until Artemis is pulling it away, leaning a bit to get a closer look at her sketch from a previous day.

A kind of smile plays on her lips. "Do you have some sort of Batman and Robin fixation?"

She looks down at her own page and notices that, yes, there _are_ a lot of Bat-symbol doodles and, in the middle, a rough sketch of Boy Wonder himself. Damn, why had she drawn that?

"It's not a _bad_ thing, you know," Artemis chimes in a tone that is borderline teasing and sarcastic, "They are pretty awesome heroes."

She closes her notebook. "Of course they are," she replies matter-of-factly. "But, my dad works with Batman from time to time—he's the police commissioner. And, as for Robin, he kind of… saved my life."

"What?" Artemis asks. "Really?"

Barbara nods. "It was this Wayne Tech party we got invited to, a few years ago. In retrospect, it wasn't that big of a deal, but there was a poorly attempted robbery and Batman and Robin showed up. It was probably not too long after Robin had made his debut. Anyway, Batman was taking care of the whole gang, of course, so Robin had been the one to protect me."

"Wow, that's…" Artemis runs her fingers through her blonde hair. "I guess they mean a lot more to you than you probably let on."

She smiles a little, twirling her pencil absently as her eyes drift back to the corner of the room. "You can say that."

* * *

><p>"Since when were you and Artemis suddenly best friends?"<p>

She catches his fist inches before it can make contact with her stomach and tries to flip him, but he just takes her with him and they end up swapping places. "I spent my last two periods with her," Barbara reminds, "I'm not sure if that makes us best friends." She tumbles towards him and he catches her foot before it hits his groin area, mid-cartwheel. "Besides, she's an interesting girl."

"Is she now?" Dick releases her, throwing a punch that she dodges as soon as she is back on her feet. "So you go around talking about me with everyone?"

_Crap._

"She was the one asking about you," she informs casually. "I was just answering her questions."

He smirks. "Right, because she _asked_ you about your relation to Robin."

"How did you—"

However, she feels her feet get kicked out from underneath her and her back hits the cold floor. She looks up to find him laughing in her face again. "Déjà vu, huh Barbie?"

She rolls her eyes and tries to shove him off, but he rolls off of her and onto his knees before she can touch him. "You know I _hate_ it when you call me that," she groans, shooting a glare in his direction.

"Letting your opponent know your weakness is not an admirable choice," a voice informs, and their heads turn to see a suited Bruce walking towards them with Alfred behind, a tray in hand. Bruce offers Barbara his hand and she smiles and takes it, letting him pull her up. "Though, I pity any opponent that goes against you."

"If you're trying to make me less nervous," Barbara says, "it's working, so keep it up."

Bruce chuckles. "Suit up. We don't want to keep everyone waiting."

Barbara nods and waits for Bruce to walk towards the other part of the cave before letting out an uneasy breath.

"If I may be so bold, Miss Barbara," Alfred says, "a young lady quite as charming as yourself will have little trouble making a memorable first impression."

She can't help but beam at that, and Alfred even graces her with a soft grin when she pecks his cheek lightly and tells him, "Thanks, Al. You always have my back."

"You are welcome, Miss Barbara. Now," he says, lifting the tray in his hands. Folded in two neat piles were hers and Dick's costumes, their respective cowls resting atop them. She feels Dick come to stand beside her as Alfred continues, "I believe it is time."

* * *

><p>It felt weird to be in the costume, if Barbara were being honest in this moment.<p>

She had known the design ahead of time and of course the measurements were to a tee, so it fit perfectly. Every inch of her skin is covered except for her face, but even then, she still felt oddly exposed. Must be the tights, she supposes, though she immediately understood upon putting it on why Bruce and Dick felt so much better behind the cowl; her little shield.

If it weren't terribly out of character, she probably would've held Bruce's hand as the transporter was beaming them to Mountain. She felt the need to, though settled for standing abnormally closer than usual, which Bruce neither pointed out nor seemed to mind much.

"_Recognized: Batman-02, Robin-B01, Batgirl-B08_."

Bruce walks in front, of course, and Dick maintains a slower pace beside her, seeming to sense she needs it. It comforts her probably more than she is willing to _ever_ admit to him.

The Team is standing there waiting for them with Black Canary and Red Tornado in attendance. All of them are suited up but one, who is obviously the clone Dick and Bruce had been telling her all about, judging by the red symbol against his black shirt. His expression is mostly blank, though made up by the wide smile Miss Martian is wearing at his side. There is a low whistle, obviously from Kid Flash, and Aqualad shoots him a look that screams "_you better behave because Batman is right there_," before meeting her eyes and smiling softly.

Finally, her eyes land on the blonde one in green, with a matching bow in hand and quiver of arrows strapped to her back, who smacks the back of Kid Flash's head and hisses at him to "_cut that out!_"

Barbara chuckles a little at that, which grabs her attention, and Artemis puts a smile on her face that is larger than Aqualad's but less extreme than Miss Martian's, and entirely warm.

Bruce drops a hand on her shoulder, squeezing in a way she knows is secretive and only for her.

"This is my newest protégée," he introduces. "From this day onward, she will be a member of this team."

She bites the inside of her lip and wonders if the silence that follows is longer and quieter than anything she's ever experienced before, or if that's just her imagination.

Something nudges the back of her shoulder, and she looks back to see Dick elbowing her, gesturing her forward a little. He smiles at her and it's the first one all day where he isn't being smug or cackling in her face about something. And like that, whatever nerves she had dissolved in seconds. Sometimes she hates how dependent she is on him.

"I'm Batgirl. We're going to have so much fun together."

* * *

><p><strong>An.** Dick turned out strangely flirty at parts. I just can't help it; despite their ages, I'm in love with Dick/Babs.

Before you ask, "If there's an age difference, why are they all in the same P.E. class together?" my answer is, "Because I wanted them to be." It's true; sorry for my laziness and lack of accuracy there.

This kind of took a life of its own, but conceited-sounding or not, I kind of love the universe I created. I definitely picture Barbara and Artemis having similar personalities and becoming friends in Gotham Academy, and her back story obviously doesn't follow her comic book one, but I liked re-making it to fit Earth-16. I'm probably making her 14 or 15, which would make her Artemis's age here.

_So you read it. Love it? Hate it? Please review it!_


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